Fundraiser Benefits Family of Critically-Injured Mankato Man

A community will come together Thursday to rally behind the family of the Mankato man who was critically injured in a fight.

Twenty-four-year-old Isaac Kolstad remains on life support after he was injured nearly two weeks ago in downtown Mankato.

The Fastenal company’s Mankato branch, which is where Kolstad worked, will host a benefit from 5-7 p.m. Thursday to help his family offset the costs. The event includes a silent auction and free-will offering meal.

Doctors said Kolstad had a skull fracture on the left side of his head after the fight. He also was suffering from bleeding of his brain, brain swelling and shifting, along with deterioration of his lungs from a lack of oxygen, doctors told investigators.

Police arrested 20-year-old Philip Nelson, a former University of Minnesota quarterback from Mankato, early in the morning on May 11, just after the assault. Nelson has been accused of kicking Kolstad in the head. He is facing two felony assault charges and is currently out on $20,000 bail.